County Commission Approves Permit for Horses; Tables Land Sale

Matt and Amanda Withroder won easy approval of their conditional use permit request from the Natrona County Commission on Tuesday to allow horses and 4-H animals on their 1.5 acres west of Casper.

They made a straightforward appeal for varied land uses on both their own 1.56 acres in the Skyline Ranches No. 2 Subdivision and for property owners in the future.

"It's also worth recognizing that the Casper area is growing very rapidly in population and with construction of high-density housing in previously undeveloped areas," Amanda Withroder said.

"And regardless of these future development and expansion plans, we would suggest the commission continue to recognize allowable uses under the current zoning regulations on existing properties and encourage property owners to maintain traditional values and land uses in accordance with the zoning regulations," she said.

Their property is south of Wyoming Highway 220 near Robertson Road, where the land is zoned Urban Residential. Some of their neighbors have obtained conditional use permits for Light Agricultural uses for horses and 4-H project animals.

The County's Planning and Zoning Commission approved the Withroders' request in September, and limited the number of horses they could have on their property to two.

Commissioner Robert Hendry commended them and their understanding of the responsibilities of keeping horses.

On the other hand, commissioners were not keen on a proposal to sell some land the county acquired 18 years ago by a quit claim deed after the owner failed to pay the property taxes.

This land, north of Bar Nunn on the east side of Interstate 25, is among many unwanted parcels in what County Attorney Bill Knight called a "binder full of properties."

B&B Ventures LLC submitted a bid to buy the property for $3,692.50, which claimed is based on the value of nearby properties, Knight said.

After a public hearing during which no one spoke, commissioners voted to table the sale and other commissioners agreed with B&B Ventures' estimate of its value.

Commissioner Bill McDowell wants the county assessor to review the values of neighboring lots, which may be significantly higher, he said.